


A Shadow of Memory

by Teamione



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, It's at the end of Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Major character death - Freeform, Palace of the Four Sword, Physical hurt, This Does Not End Happily, it's sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26745091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Teamione/pseuds/Teamione
Summary: What he had thought was a second chance from Hylia was nothing but a horrible, cruel joke. He wished he had never been brought back—it’s brought him nothing but pain.He gave up, save for one thing.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 30





	A Shadow of Memory

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry Shadow, you don't deserve this ;-;

The steady  _ drip...drip...drip… _ of water filled the room, the musty smell of mildew and mold oppressing the dismal surroundings. Weak shafts of sunlight filtered through the cracks in the ceiling, old stone slowly withering away with age. Faintly in the distance, eerie sounds signaled the presence of monsters. The whole room was covered with dust, save for the centerpiece. In the middle of the room sat a pedestal in which a shimmering sword with a single violet gem embedded in the handle rested. Not a speck of dust was to be seen on the blade.

_ And that’s how it should be _ , Shadow thought, inspecting the sword for damage.  _ The sword should stay exactly the way he left it _ .

Content with the state of the blade, Shadow melted into the floor, merging with the shadows and sliding quickly out of the room, past the boss monster lying in wait, and into the main room. Shadow sighed as he flew up to a small hole in the room, high up on the wall where the monsters couldn’t reach him. This had been the routine for years, ever since he had woken up in the Palace of the Four Sword. Closing his eyes, Shadow’s memory whisked him back to that first day.

_ The first thing he felt was cold. The hard chilly marble of a floor digging into his face. Wait—that couldn’t be right! He lost his physical form when he smashed the dark mirror...he shouldn’t be able to feel anymore. He grimaced but forced his eyes open, struggling to push up just enough to see his surroundings. His gaze was met with the sight of the Four Sword resting serenely in a pedestal—wait—no, only one part of the Four Sword rested in the pedestal. Confused, Shadow pushed himself to his feet, clinging to the wall for support as a wave of dizziness passed over him; disorientation clung to him like a dark cloud. Where was he? The place was well kept, a clean and regal-looking room, fit for a palace. Marble made the up floors, and towering columns of stone rose to the ceiling high overhead. Maybe it was a palace? Shadow heard voices and stumbled in their general direction, keeping close to the walls to stay out of sight. A familiar voice carried through the halls, explaining to someone that with the Four Sword separated and each in its own pedestal, the seal should be four times as strong and keep Vatti in for good. Another voice responded that they had placed a barrier on the place, sealing any dark energies inside in case Vatti was to escape. Shadow’s eyes widened, recognizing the first voice as Link’s. He saw the silhouette of two people in the doorway and started running in their direction, fumbling a little because his legs were weak with disuse. A warmth blossomed in his chest at the thought of being able to see Link again. To be able to apologize for everything that happened. Shadow felt a smile start to break out on his face. Hylia knows why he was given a second chance but— _

**_CRASH!_ **

_ Shadow slammed into a barrier, the force of the collison knocking him to the ground. He groaned, looking up. In front of him was a doorway, shimmering slightly with an enchantment...with a barrier. He recalled the other person’s words. The princess’ words, he realized, now recalling her voice. Shaking, Shadow looked at his hands, they radiated with dark magic. His whole being did, it was what he was made out of. His head snapped up at the sign of movement. The two silhouettes were moving further from the doorway. They hadn’t seen him. Shadow jumped up and ran to the barrier, panic rising in his chest as the full gravity of the situation weighed down on him. _

_ Shadow pounded on the barrier trapping him, screaming, “WAIT—NO—PLEASE! DON’T GO— I’M STILL IN HERE! I CAN’T GET OUT—LINK—” _

_ It was no use, the figures couldn’t hear him. When they faded from sight Shadow fell to his knees, tears building in his eyes. He was trapped here. Maybe… maybe they’ll come back? Maybe they’ll check the seal on the blade and find me, like the first time we met. _

But they never did. No one ever set foot in the building again. Over time the number of monsters roaming the halls grew to be too many for Shadow to keep control of. The dust couldn’t be kept from accumulating. Hundreds of years came and went. Shadow knew there was no way Link was still alive, but he couldn’t bring himself to accept it.

What he had thought was a second chance from Hylia was nothing but a horrible, cruel joke. He wished he had never been brought back—it’s brought him nothing but pain.

He gave up, save for one thing.

Shadow snapped his head up, eyes widening at the sound of footsteps echoed through the chamber. A person.  _ Someone was here. _

Shadow quickly jumped down and merged into the shadows, quickly tracing the source to a young boy walking through the first room. Shadow’s eyes were drawn to the familiar green cap the boy wore… the cap that is far too familiar. But a glance at the kid’s face confirmed that it wasn’t Link. There were some similarities, sure, but this wasn’t Link. He was much taller than Link, for one, and the hair was completely different; Link didn’t have pink hair.

He narrowed his eyes in suspicion and distrust, hundreds of years of chasing off thieves and robbers having made him wary.  _ Why is this kid here? _

Shadow kept to the dark corners of the room and followed him, careful to keep any evidence of his presence hidden from the trespasser. The kid walked with an air of confidence, slashing down any monsters he came across with his sword and putting a large array of items to use. He looked young, but he definitely was experienced in dungeons, which is what the Palace of the Four Sword had deteriorated to.

_ Well _ , Shadow thought, shaking his head,  _ we’ll see how he handles the boss monsters. Anyone with any common sense whatsoever would run away screaming _ .

Shadow watched him enter the first boss monster room, and then left the shadows, flying back up to his little alcove in the wall. There was no sense in sticking around, the kid would leave soon enough.

Or so he thought.

When he heard footsteps again, he looked down and saw the kid.  _ The kid that was now holding a piece of the Four Sword. _

A cold dread washed over Shadow.  _ That’s why he’s here. He’s just another thief like all the others!  _ Shadow narrowed his eyes, he couldn’t let this happen. He couldn’t let this  _ thief _ steal the one thing he had left to remind him of Link. The one thing he had sworn to protect.

Shadow decided to wait until the kid tried to steal the last sword. He really didn’t want to fight anyone anymore, he was just so tired. He especially didn’t want to fight someone that resembled Link so strongly, but if that’s what it took to protect the Four Sword then so be it.

Shadow watched in growing horror as the kid defeated each boss monster and picked up the swords. Four swords...three swords...two swords...one sword…One by one the kid took down all the bosses, and confidently drew each blade forth from where they rested. Shadow noticed from watching, however, that the kid seemed to have a penchant for exploring every corner and room leaving no pot or rock unturned, and that the kid wouldn’t leave until he had seen the final room just past the other four. Shadow melted into the shadows once more and hid inside the room. Nothing occupied it save for a few pots, but the thief didn’t know that. He’d wander in and be trapped by a locked door.

Sure enough not ten minutes later, in strode the kid, and Shadow took his chance. He summoned faint shadows to raise the swords out of the kid’s grasp, then enveloped them in the darkness to hide them away. Shadow thought for a moment, he couldn’t divide himself with the Four Sword, since it was already split apart, but he could make shadow clones of himself. Yeah. That’d work.

Calling on the dark magic inside of him, Shadow split himself into four clones, and each took one of the swords. That kid had made a big mistake coming here, and Shadow would scare him away so he never tried to steal the Four Sword again.

The first Shadow appeared behind the thief in a puff of smoke, kicking him in the back. He let out a cry of pain and quickly scrambled from where he had fallen, whirling around and locking blades with Shadow in a loud clang of metal and flying sparks. 

_Wow..._ Shadow thought to himself, huffing with exertion, _I underestimated him._ _This kid doesn’t scare easily. Normally just the red eyes and dark magic would be enough to scare people off._

Shadow danced around the kid’s blade, dodging left and right before he was finally struck straight through the middle. He let out a pained gasp and in a puff of smoke reformed with the rest of the clones. Three were left.

Shadow grimaced, rubbing his stomach where the other clone had been stabbed, and rushed out with the second one. This kid wasn’t playing around. He saw Shadow as a monster to be slain and now Shadow had to give it everything he had. 

The room filled with the sounds of clashing metal and yells. Shadow took his—no— _ Link’s _ sword and spun towards his opponent, metal flashing as the blade whistled through the air. Somehow though, the kid dodged the attacks and once again speared him through the middle.

Shadow’s consciousness was once again shot backwards into another clone. He stumbled from the shadows he had been hidden in and tried to get his head straight. The whole room was spinning and he felt like he was going to throw up. His stomach was filled with an intense pain and he nearly buckled over in agony. 

He had a matter of seconds in this clone before he felt the piercing pain of metal being driven through his back.

Shadow gasped for breath, now in only one body. This was it, lose one more time and he’d die. His magic was weak from excessive use and he couldn’t make more clones. If he lost then the thieving kid would take the Four Sword away from him, and Link’s memory would be lost forever. His vision swam, blurring together in an array of color. He forced himself to stay in the shadows as he tried to locate the red and green tunic of his opponent. Shadow flattened himself against the wall, sinking as far into the shadows as he could. The kid was pacing the room, a dangerous look in his eye. 

Shadow grit his teeth, there was no option. He had to fight.  _ He had to take him down or drive him away. _ Shadow forced his nausea under control and took a deep, shuddering breath. He felt like death but he had no healing potions or fairies. He wasn’t sure if they’d work on him anyways.

Waiting until the kid had his back turned, Shadow rushed from his hiding place and charged his opponent. He didn’t expect the kid to predict his move, however. As soon as Shadow reached him, the kid swung around with a grin on his face, knocking Shadow back with a spin attack. Shadow stumbled to his feet, blood dripping from his torn tunic. He sprinted at the kid once more and locked blades yet again. Shadow knocked him to the ground but the thief used this fall to quickly pull out a hookshot and spear him in the leg.

Shadow cried out in agony, being yanked off his feet and slammed onto his back, knocking the wind out of him. As Shadow’s vision swam again and he gasped for air, he felt the light be blocked from overhead. Eyes widening in horror, he met the gaze of his attacker. The eyes were cold and merciless, as if he were simply just another obstacle or monster in the dungeon.

_ Which I am. I never gave him a reason to believe otherwise _ , Shadow realized in a moment of clarity as the blade came whistling down.

Pain. Agonizing, indescribable pain filled Shadow as the thief plunged the sword down into his chest, twisting it before jerking it back out. Shadow felt himself gasp for air, fluid filling his lungs and as he coughed it up he realized it was blood. He felt his magic falter and sputter out of existence, the other three swords falling out of the shadows with a loud clang. He weakly lifted his head to see the kid pick up the Four Sword pieces, and winced as a bright flash of light filled the room. The sword was once again whole. 

Shadow’s vision grew more and more dim as he struggled to breath, shaking as he bled out on the ground. The floor was sticky beneath him. He watched the silhouette walk further and further out of sight.

_ Funny _ , Shadow thought, closing his eyes, _ the floor’s just as cold as when I woke up. _

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing hurt/no comfort angst and character death! I've never written something like this before, and when I got the idea I wanted to try it and see how I'd do with angst on this level, and so here we are.
> 
> Shadow I'm so sorry.


End file.
